The Best of Intentions
by kitty maire
Summary: Set in season 5, Sam, Dean and Castiel discover that some demons have unexpected allies. This is not the quick and easy case they were looking for...chapter two now up...Spoilers, I am sure...
1. Chapter 1

This is set in season five, after MBV, so beware of spoilers...please read, enjoy and, if possible, review to give me hope that this translates from the images in my head to the words on the screen.

As always, this wonderful world was created by others...I am just sharing the muse.

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The plan was solid-salt the doors and windows on the outside, bless the water of the warehouse's old fire sprinkler system and go in the front door to stop what ever it was the demons thought they were doing. Demons couldn't escape, and would be distracted by the holy water bath enough for the younger Winchester to practice a more traditional method of exorcism. They even had their very own angel to provide some back up.

To bad the demons did as well. Who knew?

The angel didn't make itself known right away, not that it had much of a choice with the Winchester's less than subtle entrance. But as soon as it sensed it's brother, it wasn't shy any more. Sam had taken a kick to the ribs, enough to steal the air from his lungs-and therefore was unable to shout a warning to Dean. Dean felt the hit to the back of his head, but not the feel of his body hitting the floor as unconsciousness took him.

He awoke slowly, felt the trickle of blood down the back of his head before he opened his eyes. The hunter in him prevented the gasp of shock from escaping his lips as he took in the scene before him. Sam was tied to a pipe, bent over almost in half, his pride not willing him to sit on the floor and be even more defenseless than he already was. The more alarming image was that of Castiel-an angel of Heaven and, more importantly, a friend to the Winchesters, down on one knee, bleeding rather profusely from a large wound hidden from view by the arm he had wrapped protectively around his stomach.

Dean attempted to remember what had brought them to this moment-signs, omens, missing people-standard fare in a world currently under siege by both demons and angels. They went to check it out, hoping for an easy fight to break the monotony of constantly getting their asses kicked as of late. This was clearly not what they had requested. Someone should have clued the demons in.

But something was not right (clearly, that little voice in his mind supplied helpfully). How did a bunch of low-level demons get the jump on both him and his brother, much less Castiel? The answer, Dean realized, was the not quite human that was standing over his injured friend. Apparently Castiel wasn't the only rebellious angel in the room.

"Brother," the other angel whispered, "Why do you fight us? You know what Lucifer told you to be true. If you win this battle, you will become the hunted. Yet you continue to struggle for these..._humans_." the distaste in Castiel's choice clearly expressed in that last word.

Castiel looked at his brother with something close to pity in his blue eyes. "Elyon, you know that what he plans to do will end this world. I could not accept his offer, no matter what the outcome may mean for myself."

Dean filed the angels words away for later-when did Cas and Lucifer have a pow-wow?-and attempted a little distraction. "So, when did angels start teaming up with demons? Seems like you're slumming a little-"

A quick slap to the face stopped him in mid insult, but it got the desired result. The angel, Elyon apparently, turned his back to Castiel and focused on the elder Winchester. "So this is the much heralded Dean Winchester? Really not impressed. Perhaps we should not fear Michael wearing you about town after all..."

Dean gave the angel a once over, taking in the sword he held in his hand-the sword that Castiel had used to dispatch the angels in upstate New York. That was not something he wished to see being wielded so close to his friend-("Only an angel can truly kill another angel Dean" Cas had told him when questioned about the origin of the weapon.) Dean hid the rising panic behind a well practiced mask, and gave a little snort. "Well if this is the best Lucifer can round up, I think we'll take care of this Apocalypse on our own."

"Yes, I can see that," Elyon replied, a smile on his lips. "You have done such a bang up job so far. You threw the opening pitch...and your brother hit it out of the park."

Sam gave a small grunt at the reminder of his part in the start of the end of the world. The angel walked over to the younger Winchester and caressed his cheek. "Please do not take that as an insult my child. You have done something we could not. You freed our brother. For that we are most grateful."

Dean made to move towards his brother, but the demons restraining him made it a study in futility. He glanced over at Cas, who had managed to get to his feet, but was looking strangely fragile at the moment. This did nothing to alleviate Dean's concern. The angel was staring at Sam with a look of concentration, and Dean tried to follow his gaze across the room.

Sam was also aware of Castiel's obvious action-although he realized absently that no one else in the room seemed to be. Perhaps it was due to the fact that this was Castiel behavior from months ago-a look of reserved determination that almost all the angels seemed to wear. Cas had loosened up enough since his death and resurrection that the look was often replaced by grim amusement. This however was something else-Cas was concentrating on something, and Sam realized what it was a moment later as the pipe he was tied to moved-slightly, barely even noticeable-but it was movement. He knew what Cas was doing immediately, and was almost as quick as Dean in providing distraction.

Sam swallowed loudly and looked at the angel standing in front of him. The angel that was thanking him for starting the Apocalypse. It was not hard to sound angry. "I don't want your thanks. Maybe when I send Lucifer back to the hell cage he called home...then you can thank me."

Sam hoped it would give Castiel a few more moments to work his mojo. Unfortunately it only seemed to remind the other angel of his true task for today. "Sam, I am sorry to hear you say that, truly I am. I can not harm you, obviously" He glanced over at Dean. "And torturing Dean seems so... redundant. But...I do have a wild card..."

Sam blinked, unable to follow this new train of thought. Then realization dawned on his face, and he glanced at Castiel. Apparently Castiel had also made the connection. He stood taller as his brother approached, Sam noticing for the first time the subtle movement of his right hand-his shaking right hand.

"Brother, this will pain me more than you can imagine." Elyon stated, almost managing to put regret in his voice.

Castiel stood still, watching his brother approach. He was weakened by the battle, and the large wound across his chest made by the sword was draining his vessel of vital fluids. There was pain also, and although he could push it to the back of his mind, he could not eradicate it completely. Normally this wouldn't be an issue-but normal had escaped him in resent months. Instead of healing Jimmy's body, he worked on freeing Sam. Once Sam was no longer restrained, perhaps the brothers could fight their way out of this predicament. But Dean would not leave without Sam, and would in fact be too distracted by his brother's inability to defend himself to put up an adequate fight. Castiel was reminded of a conversion he and Dean once had...the brothers were each others biggest vulnerability. Castiel also knew they were each others strength-they worked best as a team, and he hoped that his efforts would be enough to prove him right.

The demon standing behind Castiel moved suddenly, locking long arms around his chest. Instead of struggling, Castiel kept eye contact with Elyon, hoping his brother would not notice his actions across the room. He was not expecting the sudden fire of his arm as the sword pierced his vessel's flesh.

Sam heard Castiel gasp, his eyes closing as he clearly fought back a groan of pain. Sam could feel the pipe's movement, and risked pulling on the rope that was holding him to it. He was almost free, and looked to his brother for silent coordination. Dean could see the weakening connection the pipe had with the wall, and then he scanned the room for their weapons. Ruby's knife was sitting on a table, too far from either Sam or himself to reach easily, but at least he knew what to head for when the opportunity opened up.

Castiel seemed to be supported almost completely by the demon restraining him now, and yet he was still working on the pipe. Due to this task however, he was unable to ignore the abuse his vessel was enduring, his breathing speeding up as the pain increased. He was a warrior of God's army, and had been injured in battle before. Being tortured, he was discovering, was quite different. Another blow struck him in the ribs, and he heard Jimmy's bones crack. That was...painful.

Elyon did not take his eyes off his brother. It amazed him that one of his kind would risk so much. Castiel had given up everything-sacrificed all that he was-and for what? He expected as much from the weak creatures his father created- they were prone to illogical actions and selfless choices. Too see such behavior in one of his own though, was always disappointing.

"I will kill him Sam. It will be slow and messy. How about you save me some time by saying yes to Lucifer now, so we can stop this unpleasantness..."

Sam clenched his jaw-he was really starting to hate the persuasions of disgraced angels. He glanced at his friend-Castiel broke eye contact with Elyon to make Sam understand. No matter what happened to him, Sam knew that he could not agree to let Lucifer take up lease in his body. Castiel was willing to die to protect him from Lucifer. The least Sam could do was try to prevent that from happening today. A slight nod to Cas that he knew Dean would see, then a small smile of defiance graced his lips. "You know what? How about you just go to hell!"

Sam gave a final hard pull of the rope, and the pipe pulled free of the wall. In the same moment the demon killing knife flew from the table and logged itself in one of the demons restraining Dean. Convenient angel skills Dean mused quickly as he removed it from the now dead demon, quickly plunging it into the one on his other side.

Castiel crumpled to the floor as soon as the demon holding him up released him to join the battle. Dean was using his pent up anger to make short work of the remaining demons in the room. Sam however was coming towards him and Elyon, which was the exact opposite of what he should be doing.

Elyon seemed to be at a loss for what to do. He could not harm the vessel for Lucifer, and the useless demons were proving to be easy prey for the one fighting Winchester. This was unexpected, to say the least.

Sam was standing in front of him now, and started to speak the language of the angels. Castiel looked up, something close to pride on his face. With some shock Elyon realized what the boy was attempting to do-the equivalent of an angel exorcism. He was not powerful enough (yet, he thought grimly) to complete it. But it was enough to cause a ripping sensation to radiate through him, the sword falling from his grasp. Unarmed and faced with the wrath of a human potentially powerful enough to harm him, he did the only thing he could do-flee.

Sam dropped to his knees besides Castiel, who was having difficulty breathing. Sam wasn't sure how important it was for the angel to breath, but since he was straining so hard to do so, it must be of some necessity. Dean was by his side a moment later, standing in front of the two of them in a protective stance, the remaining demons ready to pounce. Dean had made a decent hole in their numbers, but there were still more demons than two humans and one bleeding angel could handle.

"Sam, get Cas out of here...I 'll hold off our friends." Dean ordered in a lowered voice.

Sam gave a humorless laugh. "Right Dean, we are not leaving you here-"he stated as he helped Castiel to his feet.

Dean rolled his eyes-now was not the time for this. "Sam-"

"Dean-" Sam started at the same moment. They were both interrupted by a pulling-pushing-rushing-sensation-and a rough landing on wet pavement next to the Impala.

Both brothers looked at Castiel, who appeared to be going into shock-if angels could do such things. "I made an executive decision." He stated, the last of his energy in that action. His eyes closed, knees buckled, and the angel lost consciousness.

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I hope you enjoyed this first chapter...the second is ready to go, and will be posted tomorrow night. Thank you again for reading, and as always, your input/reviews would be wonderful.

~km


	2. Chapter 2

He awoke slowly, which in itself was odd. Castiel could recall just a few incidents since the beginning of time where he lost awareness. It seemed that all of them had been since his introduction to the Winchesters. Of the many sensations he had experienced since his alliance with the humans, this was not one he would like to repeat.

He felt the weakness of his vessel like no other time. There was pain of partially healed bones and what he believed to be stitches across several wounds on his chest and lower arm. Why he would have such a barbaric procedure done to him was a mystery... it was all very unpleasant.

What was not unpleasant was the other sensations he encountered...the musty smell of old books and papers mixed with salt and alcohol-an unusual mixture, but familiar. He knew this place-he was at Bobby Singer's house, and he was strangely comforted by that thought.

He wished to know why he was in this state but his thoughts were strangely disrupted. He remembered a call from Sam-they were on the way to a warehouse that was the center of some serious demon activity-and were wondering if he could join them. He was in the back seat of the Impala before the younger Winchester had disconnected the call.

There was a battle, and he felt a familiar presence in the room. Before he could whisk the brothers or himself to safety, Dean was unconscious, and Sam was being restrained by no less than three demons. Castiel was engaged by a small army of possessed humans-and one of his own kind. The sword that he had gained possession of after Uriel's death was forcefully removed from his grasp and then plunged into his vessel's stomach-not a kill shot, but an intensely painful reminder that even angels were not truly immortal.

Elyon working with the demons had been a surprise-but Castiel realized now that it made sense. Lucifer had his followers-and it seemed logical that he would place some of them in charge of his demon army. Although they had been instrumental in his release, Lucifer did not regard their ability to accomplish his end goal without constant supervision.

Castiel shifted slightly on the couch, injured flesh issuing protest and bringing new memories into focus. Being "reminded" of his duties when he was forcefully recalled to heaven was a lesson in cruelty. His fellow angels were able to inflict horrors that would make most demons long for the warmth of hell fire. Strangely though, the torture of his human vessel was worse-perhaps it was the presence of his vessel's true owner writhing in agony yet unable to escape the physical assault -or the fear of what may occur if the true goal of his abuse was realized. Elyon was hoping Sam's guilt at seeing his friend assaulted would encourage him to agree to be Lucifer's vessel.

The angel's desire to prevent this outcome gave him the strength he needed to help free Sam and Dean. How he managed to transport all three of them to the Impala was beyond him. It had drained him more than he could have comprehended, but it had worked. The fact that he was apparently laying on Bobby Singer's couch seemed evidence of this. Too tired to open Jimmy's eyes to verify this information, he searched with his mind for confirmation.

He felt nothing.

He could not feel the presence of anyone-in this room, this house or the surrounding environment. He could not feel his grace-the essence that made him an angel-and he could not feel his wings. He could only feel the weight of his vessel's body laying on a flat, soft surface.

This frightened Castiel more than he could have imagined. The shock of it all bringing him fully awake and bolting upright, his eyes opening widely to see what his grace could not. The sudden movement aggravated his injured vessel, injuries that should already be healed. They seemed more painful than when they were actually inflicted. He gasped, holding in a scream of agony as Jimmy's awareness registered the painful injuries as well.

Castiel heard footsteps behind him, instinctively reaching out to sense the approaching being. He was met with a wave of dizziness instead of awareness. When he could not read the others soul, his blind panic sped up his breathing. He could not control his vessels reaction to this shock-mainly because in reality it was directly his own.

Sam had just started to pour himself some coffee in Bobby's kitchen when he heard movement in the other room. Castiel had been out for almost two days, and the three humans had been taking turns watching over him, not sure how to treat the injuries of a celestial being. He put the mug down and walked towards the living room, increasing his pace as he heard Castiel groan.

As he entered the room, he immediately realized something was wrong-Castiel was looking around, frantic eyes searching for something, one had holding onto his injured side. When he saw Sam enter the room, he instinctively recoiled slightly, fear dancing across his face.

Sam was unsure what to do with this reaction-it was reminiscent of their first meeting and caused the younger Winchester a slight pang of guilt. He stopped moving and put up his hands in what he hoped was a calming gesture.

"Hey Cas, easy...don't move too much yet. You're okay, you're safe...we're at Bobby's..." Sam motioned around him, indicating the room. "Dean is sleeping upstairs, and Bobby down the hall. Did you want me to get one of them..." he trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed.

Castiel shook his head slowly, a new wave a dizziness the result. "I can not feel anything, Sam..." the angel replied, his voice rougher than usual.

Sam was unsure what the angel meant by that phrase. It seemed evident by the lines on his face that he was feeling too much. "Cas, I'm not sure I follow..." He said, slowly lowering his hands. It seemed to Sam that something other than his demon tainted blood was the issue right now.

Castiel looked around the room again, then at Sam, clearly trying to put into words something that could not be explained. "I can't feel anything...anyone...just myself." His voice trailed off, his eyes imploring Sam to understand the depth of his loss.

Sam took in a sharp breath, suddenly grasping the angels meaning. "Oh god-Cas-it's not you! Its these..." He took a step to the right, taking a knife out of his hand to scrape some paint off the floor. "We didn't know how to protect you..." he tried to explain, rushing his words to reassure the angel.

As Sam broke the sigils the world overwhelmed Castiel. He could feel Bobby down the hall, not quite asleep, but unaware. He could feel the remnants of a nightmare on the edge of Dean's mind upstairs. He could even feel some animals outside, scurrying amongst the relics in the junkyard.

And he could feel Sam. The young man was staring at the angel, guilt warring with sadness at what he realized they had done to their friend.

Castiel smiled slightly, the relief he felt expressed in his words. "That is much better...thank you."

Sam sat heavily on the arm of the couch furthest from the angel, a hand rubbing across his face. "We weren't sure how to help you, Cas...you were barely breathing..." he shook his head slightly,staring at the wards they had painted around the couch Castiel had rested on. "We figured the sigils would protect you from the angels until you could protect yourself. Really should have thought that one over a little better..."

"This is not your fault, Sam. My separation from Heaven's powers has had some unusual side effects." Castiel made eye contact with the young man. "You meant me no harm, and you were correct...in this state, I would not have been able to defend myself."

Sam sighed, willing to accept the angels words. "Do you need anything? Food, drink...first aid?"

Castiel raised his arm slowly, looking at the stitching across it. "It appears that I have already received first aid."

A sheepish grin appeared on Sam's face. "Yeah, that was, uh...Bobby's doing. Something about you bleeding all over his rug or something."

Castiel nodded slowly, not really understanding. How could he be blamed for the actions of his vessel while he was unconscious?

Sam was standing now, pleased to see that Castiel seemed to returning to his awkward staring. "I'm going to grab my coffee...you sure you don't need anything?"

He considered for a moment, feeling the frailness of his vessel. The injuries were still healing, and the energy expended on just the last few minutes left him drained. "All I believe I need now is rest." he stated, feeling a little unsure how to actually accomplish such a simple thing.

Sam smiled, seeing the mild confusion cross Castiel's face. This he could help with. He walked back over to the angel and made a motion for Castiel to lay down. He pulled the blanket over Castiel and smiled reassuringly. "Okay, so this is called sleeping...you've seen us do it plenty of times, but its harder in practice. The most important part...close your eyes and let your mind relax."

Castiel did as instructed, and was mildly surprised by how easily Jimmy's body feel back into this routine. "Thank you Sam...you are a good friend." he murmured, sleep already taking his tired vessel.

Sam, taken aback by this unguarded moment, felt the blush rush to his face. "Thanks Cas...you too." Retrieving his coffee from the kitchen and the book he was reading from the table, Sam sat nearby to keep his post. His mother always believed that angels were watching over her sons-apparently tonight it would be one of her son's turn to watch over them.

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Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed...as always reviews are most welcome.

~km


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